On Sat, 22 Feb 2003 14:25:48 +0000, Zphysics1 wrote:


The earthworms and everything else seemed to carry on as before. Not
only were the results organically correct, they were dramatic.

I would like to encourage others to try a heavy sprinkling of fresh
(un-brewed) grounds to deal with slugs. I have a 300 sq ft garden and
only used about 2# of coffee (from a 5# can of "the cheap stuff"), so
the expense is not unbearable.

Apparently their nervous systems can not deal with that much caffeine.

Bill




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So, Bill, do the ground coffe have to be unbrewed? I was thinking of
giving the slugs brewed creme-brulee coffee grounds :-) The aroma will
attract them and then kapow! :-)

Anyway, I will try your method.

/z.

Actually, yes, in this case 'fresh' appears to be a requirement. There is
a minimum level of caffeine (which fresh grounds only just-barely meet)
and, as one of the chemists on this list noted last year, used grounds are
no longer potent enough. I DO put the used grounds to work ... the worms
love 'em as a mulch and they fit just fine in the compost pile ... just
not as a slugicide (that's the wrong word, but I like it better than
molluscide, so I'm going to use it instead) :-)

I realize you were being humorous ... the 'creme brule' phrase got a
chuckle out of me ... but some on the list are humor-impaired and I didn't
want them to go off on a half-dozen tangents.

Bill


----

Would fresh mean freshly ground from whole coffee beans? I was thinking to
popping into the nearest 99 cent store and get several cans of ground (
unbrewed -- naturally) coffee. Would that work? OR does it have to be Kona
Coffee ( you know Hawaii an all :-)

OR will freeze-dried coffee work? No grounds but it does have the "ground
coffee" consistency That would be pretty much concentrated caffiene. I have a
bottle of freeze-dried Yuban I cannot stand. Will that work? ( Seriously.)

* grin*
/z.